Dear Seattleites: Why can’t you drive in the rain?

Sure … you can’t see as well, the road is slick and you should use caution when driving in the rain – but come on! You don’t have to wreck, swerve, panic, stop or slow to a crawl … And, by the way, all the regular rules of merging still apply.

After spending an inordinate amount of time on I-5 during this morning’s rainy commute, a question crossed my mind and not for the first time: Why can’t Seattleites, which includes people who only work and play in the city, drive in the rain?

It’s like the rain activates some sort of random wreck generator. The water falls from the sky and some person who is normally a good driver swerves, fails to brake or methodically drives right into something hard and the entire interstate is blocked.

… or, the brake-tapping starts, followed by the parsimonious application of pressure to the gas pedal … and you’re on the road for an extra half hour or more.

It would be one thing if the rain fell here, you know, like every now and then. But, it rains all the time and yet …

What do you think?

Seattleites can’t drive in the rain because …

It causes a rare form of amnesia in which we forget what the hell we’re doing out there on the highway (21%, 222 Votes)

It activates that passive aggressive gene that makes us want to waste other people’s time (19%, 206 Votes)

None of the above – look to the comments for my own idea (17%, 180 Votes)

It fills us with despair that the rain will never stop and there’s no point going on (13%, 140 Votes)

It activates the “stop and backup down a one-way ramp” chip implanted in every Californian as a going away present just before they move here (10%, 112 Votes)

It reminds us to pay homage to our water god by putting our face close to the windshield, squinting our eyes and ramming right into the rear of the car in front of us (4%, 48 Votes)

It activates a kill switch in our primary motor cortex (4%, 45 Votes)

It activates the swerve-left chip implanted in our brains that last time we were abducted by aliens (3%, 33 Votes)

It reminds us that life is short and so we might as well panic about the meaningless of it all right as we get on the interstate (3%, 32 Votes)

It makes us want to get out and sing in the rain (2%, 21 Votes)

It activates a recessive gene causing blindness (2%, 20 Votes)

It makes us want to slow down and meditate on something other than driving (2%, 18 Votes)

Total Voters: 1,077

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Rarely honk. That's for noisier cities. We're more polite with the horn, using it to gently rouse the driver ahead from his nap and help him understand the light has turned green.

Rarely honk. That's for noisier cities. We're more polite with the horn, using it to gently rouse the driver ahead from his nap and help him understand the light has turned green.

Photo: Getty Images/Image Source

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Call the freeway ''I-5'' and never ''the 5'' or just ''5.''

Call the freeway ''I-5'' and never ''the 5'' or just ''5.''

Photo: Getty Images

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Board a ferry without freaking out. (''Which lane should I be in? Did I start my engine too soon? WHERE DID I LEAVE MY CAR?'')

Board a ferry without freaking out. (''Which lane should I be in? Did I start my engine too soon? WHERE DID I LEAVE MY CAR?'')

Photo: Getty Images/Lonely Planet Image

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Think left-lane exits are totally normal.

Think left-lane exits are totally normal.

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Have said this to remember the order of downtown streets: ''Jesus Christ made Seattle under protest.'' Who even thought of that?
(From south to north, it stands for Jefferson, James, Cherry, Columbia, Marion, Madison, Spring, Seneca, University, Union, Pike and Pine). less

Have said this to remember the order of downtown streets: ''Jesus Christ made Seattle under protest.'' Who even thought of that?
(From south to north, it stands for Jefferson, James, Cherry, Columbia, ... more

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But still can't remember how Pike and Pine go. (One trick: The ''n'' in Pine stands for ''north,'' so Pine is north of Pike).

But still can't remember how Pike and Pine go. (One trick: The ''n'' in Pine stands for ''north,'' so Pine is north of Pike).

Photo: Getty Images/Flickr RF

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Can't drive in snow. Worse: You thought you could drive in snow... and had to abandon your car.

Can't drive in snow. Worse: You thought you could drive in snow... and had to abandon your car.

Photo: Joshua Trujillo / seattlepi.com

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Or you do the reverse: Panic at the first hint of snowflakes. That includes rushing out for supplies and heading home early (on bare streets) to hunker down.

Or you do the reverse: Panic at the first hint of snowflakes. That includes rushing out for supplies and heading home early (on bare streets) to hunker down.

Think people in SUVs are bad drivers who see themselves doing this on the road, when they're really just going to the mall.

Think people in SUVs are bad drivers who see themselves doing this on the road, when they're really just going to the mall.

Photo: Getty Images

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Know you're supposed to share the road with bicyclists, especially when you see green paint (''bike boxes'') and white arrows (''bike sharrows'').
(Also, if you've ever used ''sharrow'' as a real word).

Know you're supposed to share the road with bicyclists, especially when you see green paint (''bike boxes'') and white arrows (''bike sharrows'').
(Also, if you've ever used ''sharrow'' as a real word).

Photo: Joshua Trujillo / seattlepi.com

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But still find bicyclists annoying, even when you know they're good for the environment, they're more vulnerable on the road than you, etc., etc., and it would suck to hit one.

But still find bicyclists annoying, even when you know they're good for the environment, they're more vulnerable on the road than you, etc., etc., and it would suck to hit one.

Photo: Mike Urban / Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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What car? True Seattleites take the bus, bike or walk.

What car? True Seattleites take the bus, bike or walk.

Photo: Dan DeLong / Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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Know your directionals, in which North 85th Street means something very different than Northwest 85th Street.

Know your directionals, in which North 85th Street means something very different than Northwest 85th Street.